Proposed Code for Filmmakers

I want to join others in expressing profound concern over proposals for a new code for films and television set forth by Cardinal Roger Mahony (Feb. 2). The cardinal’s proposition calls for a new set of standards for filmmakers and the establishment of film boards with the power to censor artistic creativity. These proposals may be well-intended, but they endanger values cherished by all of us.

Citing the problems of “rape, date-rape, sexual harassment, child molestation, sex addiction, serial killings, AIDS and venereal disease epidemics,” Mahony blames filmmakers for “glorifying evil” (Jan. 29).

The accusation is a dangerously flawed one. It erroneously targets one artistic community as responsible for a large basket of our nation’s ills instead of facing up to the real problems: the breakdown of the family and schools, rising numbers of unwed mothers, violence, poverty, joblessness, addiction and easy access to guns. These complex and agonizing problems of our society will not be solved by a new code for films and television.

While I deplore excessive violence and sexual exploitation in the media, and also believe that it is appropriate for religious leaders and denominations to provide critiques of the products of film and television producers for their congregations, it is entirely something else to suggest a code of censorship for an entire artistic community. Who will determine such standards and who will police them? Shall our freedom be so easily bartered away?

RABBI HARVEY J. FIELDS

President, Board of Rabbis

of Southern California